Oct 16, 2006

$102,452 Overpayment -- Whose Fault?

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports on a case in which Social Security claims a $102,452 overpayment to a mentally retarded Highland Springs, VA woman who worked off and on after starting to draw Social Security disability benefits. The woman's brother insists that he told Social Security about the work and was told there was no problem.

One person quoted in the article suggests that many people in this situation are overpaid because they fail to report the work activity. It is possible that that is what happened here, but one should not jump to conclusions. In 2004, Congress had to enact legislation to require Social Security to adopt a system for recording reports of return to work. This was done after many reports that Social Security had no system to record reports of return to work, leading to large overpayments, even after claimants reported return to work.

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